


Bridging

by MusingsOnBuckyBarnes



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 08:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7795435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusingsOnBuckyBarnes/pseuds/MusingsOnBuckyBarnes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Steve and Tony attempt to rebuild a bridge, post Civil War. They’re not looking at the instructions, but that’s not because ‘men don’t look at the instructions’. It’s because there are no instructions for a situation like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bridging

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a fic that was mostly dialogue – here is the result.
> 
> I haven’t specified whether Steve and Bucky are together in this – you can read it as either deep friendship or that they are in a relationship. 
> 
> Warnings: mention of suicidal thoughts (not acted upon).

xXx

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi.”

 

“Tony. Is there… Is there a situation? Do you need help?”

 

“No, just thought it was time to chat, shoot the breeze. Before we start, I just wanted to say that I’ve got F.R.I.D.A.Y making sure this phone and line are secure. We can talk, text, etc. Ross – neither of them – knows that I’m speaking to you.”

 

“Okay. Thanks, I appreciate it. How’s Rhodes?”

 

“I designed an exoskeleton to help him walk. Helen Cho and I are researching and working on what surgeries, technology and treatments might be able to help. And Rhodey’s very upbeat. Determined.”

 

“That’s a relief. I’m glad.”

 

“How’s _your_ James? Triggered again? Tried to strangle you again?”

 

“No. He won’t do that.”

 

“I know he’s your bestie or boyfriend or both, but you have a bit too much blind faith in him. You may have been too busy clambering out of the elevator shaft to see it – which he shoved you into in the first place – but he wiped the floor with everyone. Trained agents, Avengers…”

 

“The Winter Soldier did that. Not Bucky. Zemo used code words to trigger it off. Bucky won’t do that.”

 

“You can’t be sure of that.”

 

 “He _can’t_.  <inaudible>”

 

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

 

“He’s in cryo.”

 

“ _What?_ You put him in cryo?”

 

_“I didn’t!_ I didn’t want him to. I’d just got him back… But it was his choice. He insisted. He didn’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt until we can find a way to safely deprogramme him.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“He’s had a lack of choices for so long – he decided.”

 

“Rough choice to make, considering his history.”

 

<Silence.>

 

“Look, I’m not going to ask where you and the others are. I’m pretty sure I know where, but I’m not going to tell the Rosses. How’s everyone in the ‘Once Was an Avenger Club’?”

 

“All right. Adjusting.”

 

“Are they angry?”

 

“They’re not blaming me, but they should. They haven’t changed their minds about the Accords though. And neither have I. We couldn’t sign them. Not in the state they were in, not with Thaddeus Ross in charge. And not after everything that’s happened. But I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you what happened to your parents.”

 

“Well, like you said in your letter, all we can do is what we believe is the right thing. We’ve all got things that hindsight shows us were a mistake. Tell Clint I’m sorry for mentioning his family on the Raft. I shouldn’t have done that. I was glad when I found out that Nat had got them to safety.”

 

“I’ll tell him. I saw on the news where Ross sent you last week.”

 

“And you think it should have been elsewhere, right?”

 

“I’m surprised at the choice, unless there was more to it than what was on the news. But what did you think?”

 

“It was good to help out there, but there was another situation I thought was a higher priority. Anyway, Pepper and I have talked.”

 

“About where Ross sent you?”

 

“Yes, but I want to talk about something else that she and I discussed. Which is, while she is very sympathetic to my situation and feelings, she seems to be a card-carrying member of the ‘Poor Bucky Barnes Fan Club’, which I hadn’t been expecting. She asked if I blamed Clint for the people he killed when Loki had control of his mind. Or if I would blame Rhodey if he was the one tortured and brainwashed and did what Barnes was forced to do. I know the logic … but logic kind of goes out the window when it’s my parents.” <Deep breath> “She watched the video.”

 

“What? You showed her -?”

 

“No, she ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y to show it to her, without me knowing. Pepper cried for my parents. She also cried for Barnes, about what HYDRA must have done to him in order to get him to kill people like that. And we do have evidence of what HYDRA did to Barnes.”

 

“From where?”

 

“When I left Siberia after our ‘little altercation’, I also took other things apart from the video. That place had quite a storeroom, and thanks to you kindly leaving the Quinjet for me, I was able to load some things up. F.R.I.D.A.Y went through them before I passed them on to Ross. So I’ve seen some of the videos of Barnes being mind-wiped. It seems they had to do that each time, because otherwise there was the risk of him rebelling. There’s a report about when they first gave him the metal arm. He immediately used it to strangle one of the Hydra scientists near him. We couldn’t find the book though – the one Zemo had the code words in. And Zemo’s being uncooperative.”

 

“We’ve got it. I’m not surprised Zemo’s being problematic. He achieved his main goal.”

 

“For now. Wow, I’m not sure I like being the optimist while you’re the pessimist. Too odd. Soooooooo, now I know how far you’d go for Barnes.”

 

“He’d do the same for me. And he hasn’t deserved any of this.”

 

“Look, the main reason I rang… I might be able to restore some of that optimism. With the info we have here and some of my newer inventions, I think we can help Barnes.”

 

“That’s… That would be… But do you _want_ to help him?”  


“I have mixed feelings on the matter. I’m…working on it. Pepper is pretty insistent that we help him though. And I suppose at the very least it would be good to turn off the Manchurian Candidate programming so people around him from now on are safe. So we can dispatch info and equipment  to you.”

 

“Thanks so much, Tony. I know this isn’t easy for you.”

 

“I may even give him a new arm – though I think he may be in a good place to have another one already lined up. Same with you and your shield. I’ve got your shield at the Tower, for when you eventually come back. I also got access to Barnes’ notebooks – the ones from his apartment and backpack. He can’t have the originals back, but I can send along scans of them.”

 

“Thank you. Those are really important to him. When he found out he was framed for the bombing, he could have just fled, but he went back to his apartment to grab the notebooks.”

 

“They make for interesting reading. Which is another reason why I’m letting this happen.”

 

“At the start of this conversation you didn’t seem like you wanted to do anything for him.”

 

“Mixed feelings, as I said. And I wanted to check to see how you’d react. If your resolve was still pure and noble, yadda yadda, despite everything that’s happened.”

 

“So I passed the test?”

 

“Of course. And as I said, I read his notebooks. I wanted to see what he said, what we were dealing with. They’re quite a read. As you’ll see.”

 

“I had a quick look in one when I was trying to locate him in Bucharest, but I’m not going to read them. I understand why you did, but I’m not. They’re Bucky’s private property.”

 

“Then allow me to fill you in on a few things. There’s a heap in Bridget Jones’ Diaries about you. How he wanted to see you again but that he was worried he’d be made to hurt you again. Well, he got _that_ right. And has he been suicidal? In the notebooks he mentions that he probably would have killed himself during the last two years due to what he has to live with, about what the Winter Soldier did, if not for knowing that it would devastate you if you found out.”

 

<Sharp intake of breath. Silence.>

 

“Okay, I guess a subject change is in order? Let’s discuss something else. I’m open to suggestions, Rogers.”

 

“I’ve been seeing someone about my PTSD…”

 

“Oh. Um, is it helping?”

 

“Yes. I should have done something about it sooner. And I don’t know if you’re seeing a counsellor about your own PTSD or not, but if you aren’t, please consider it.”

 

“Thanks for the advice. Let me execute another quick subject change. Tell the others that I’m working on trying to fix things so that you’re no longer criminals, and so you can come back. If you want. Zemo may think for now that he’s won, but he really hasn’t.”

 

“Exactly. I have to go now, but if you could send the journals and anything that would help, it would be great.”

 

“You’ll have it within the next few days. Bye, Rogers.”

 

“Bye, Tony.”

 

xXx

 

_Text messages:_

_Tony, thanks for the care parcel you sent over. Everyone liked their presents. The tech for B is apparently very promising. Will keep you informed. I didn’t try phoning because I see from the news that you’re helping with a situation. Good luck and let me know if you need help. S._

 

xXx

 

_B is out of cryo. We’re going to try your device. He said to thank you for that and the journals._

 

xXx

 

_Doubt I’ll be able to contact you for the next week or so. At a crucial stage, think it’s gonna get rough. Rougher. Will update as soon as I can_

 

**_Good luck, Cap. T_ **

 

xXx

 

“Hi -”

 

“Tony, it’s working! Your device is _working_! We got rid of that set of code words! There’s still more to be done, but … He’s been smiling because even though it has been an ordeal for him, he could see that it was working … and he even _laughed_ today when I made a joke. I didn’t think… He’s not talking about going back into cryo. Now he can really start to heal.”

 

“That’s good. And it’s good to hear you happy too.”

 

“Thanks. I can’t sit still. I just… Anyway, sorry for the ramble. How are you?”

 

“I’m seeing someone about my PTSD.”

 

“I’m glad.”

 

“Pepper and Rhodey are glad too. Maybe we can compare notes sometime.”

 

“Sure. And I heard that meetings are being convened to possibly disband the Accords and draft something else instead.”

 

“Yeah. The Accords were drafted hastily, but these new guidelines will be a lot better. I think you’ll be able to live with them, and be able to come back home.”

 

“I look forward to that. We all do.”

 

“Same here. It’ll probably take a while to get it right, but it will be worth it. Look, I’m due to head in to a meeting, so I’ve got to go, but I’ll talk to you again soon. Bye, Steve.”

 

“Bye, Tony.”

 

xXx

 

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beta readers: Fifi and Laurie. You two are gems.


End file.
